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A snort of laughter escaped ht still have I unclenchedlike that All he did was ask if I could get a ticket reduced" I grimaced and rubbed at my eyes "I have no idea why that set orously "Like ice" Spazzing out on the inside, but I could fake cool

Maybe I couldn’t, because Sarge siet that trustee"

I wanted to sink into my chair andin a ht now I needed to go see h for the trustee to wipe down the wall and mop up the worst of the coffee, then I shooed hieant’s office

"By the way," I said as I stood in his doorway, "both the vics froa-strokes"

He lifted his head and leveled a frown at me "Does Doc have a reason why yet?"

I shook s, if that’s okay"

"Do what you need to do," he said, then dropped his attention back to the paperwork on his desk I rin as I left Cory knew that a number of my cases had some supernatural aspects, but that didn’telse that gave hih I had to give him that

I stepped out of the back door and then let out a shocked cry as soainst the outside wall Or rather, I would have let out a shocked cry if I had any air left in ainst the ith her forearm With her other she fished the cuff out of et," she said in a mild tone that belied the fury in her narrowed eyes

"Oh, yeah," Ia se

She hrab et," she repeated

I took a shuddering breath as the faint queasiness returned "I won’t I’m really sorry"

Her expression softened, and she laid a hand on my shoulder "I am not wroth with you But this is a habit that you must form"

"I will" I took a deep breath in a futile atte out for me"

She smiled "It is my pleasure" And with that she turned and walked off I watched her until she turned the corner, then I continued on to my car If I’d ever had any doubts about her ability to be at one now Not that I’d ever had any, to be honest

My deuard kicked ass Unfortunately, every now and then that ass was ave the door of Tessa’s house a cursory knock, then entered, a split second ahead of her shout of "Kitchen!" At least thatto do with my aunt could be I paused, slipped the cuff off, and stuffed it intomy coat My aunt’s pristine white, century-old house arded to the teeth; I had no fear of being attacked or summoned while in here Situated in a historical district on the lakefront, Tessa kept her house in exquisite condition, with carefullyalong the porch, and a set of white rockers that, unlike mine, had actually been taken out of the boxes they came in and assembled The inside of her house was just as lovely--brilliant hardwood floors, crown , and flowered wallpaper in a subtle pattern of rose and gold Not that she ever let anyone inside to see it whon on the door was a standing joke, at least in my opinion The aversions were such that only soet close enough to the house to see it

Continuing on down the hallway, I entered the kitchen to see Tessa and Carl sitting at the table playing so true to her incredibly eclectic and weird sense of style, she had on a thigh-length black sweater dress es underneath that and knee-high boots--hat had to be five-inch heels Her wild, kinky blond hair was pulled back from her face by a white scarf As usual, it totally worked on her It helped that she was a tiny little thing without a spare ounce of fat on her body

Tessa gave me a cheery smile, then returned her attention to the richly colored cards displayed in front of her and in her hand "There’s hot water in the kettle if you want tea," she infor myself onto a stool at the counter "Are those tarot cards?"

Tessa let out a bright peal of laughter "Oh, heavens, no Nothing that silly We’re playing ‘Magic, The Gathering’ "

After ued to confuse and surprise , right?"